Fresh Lead

The ban triggered global condemnation and remains the Taliban's biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. Afghan girls attend a religious school, which remained open since the last year's Taliban takeover, in Kabul, Afghanistan.  ISLAMABAD: Two years after the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education. Now, the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly Monday in New York. The U.N. children’s agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban, although it estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons. The ban triggered global condemnation and remains the Taliban’s biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. But the Taliban defied the backlash and went further, excluding women and gir...

At least 250 people in different provinces of Afghanistan have been publically lashed by the Taliban on charges of various crimes. A file photo of a Taliban guard alongside a woman in Kabul used for representational purpose only. KABUL: The Supreme Court of Taliban has said that 11 people including two women were on Friday publicly lashed at a sports ground in Faizabad in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, Afghanistan-based news agency Khaama Press reported. Accusing them of "moral crimes and adultery", 11 people were lashed by the Taliban in front of a huge crowd in northern Badakhshan province in the presence of Taliban authorities, scholars, and local elders, Khaama Press reported, citing an official statement. Prior to this, as per the verdict of the Taliban Supreme Court, 16 people were publicly lashed in the Grishk district of southern Helmand province, according to the Khaama Press. At least 250 people in different provinces of Afghanistan have been pub...